Merfolk
As plentiful as life is on the land, so is it in the seas. Among the many denizens of the water are the Merfolk. These mermen and mermaids of the ocean are not to be confused with marine based monster girls of Mo'Gallile, though at times it can be hard to distinguish the two. One factor that can help is that Merfolk's marine side tends to have a stronger emphasis on the body, rather than the "humanoid" side. Another is they reproduce amongst their own species, unlike monster girls who require human males. Divisions Among The Merfolk While they are considered one race, merfolk are very diversified. They have evolved from all types of sea life, not just one type of fish. There are merfolk who are part shark, others who are part octopus, and even rumors some descend from Iatneh. Even among those of the same fish species, their looks can vary greatly. An octopus merfolk can have multiple arms, multiple legs, or multiple of both. Hammerhead merfolk may have the classic hammerhead head or simply a wide forehead. Another difference among them is due to environment. Merfolk tend to grow larger and stronger the deeper they live in the ocean. This is due to the pressure exerted on them and the weight of the water. There are essentially four merfolk environments: Shallows, Bay, Ocean, and Trench. Shallow Dwellers: These Merfolk tend to live in lakes, swamps, or just live on land. They tend to be shorter than the average human and be just as strong. They tend to live quite well with land dwelling races (or Land Dwellers as merfolk call them, seeing them as just one race as varied as themselves). There are no real Shallow Dweller villages or settlements, they general live among other populations. Bay Dwellers: These merfolk stick to deeper waters, but not so deep that they risk encounters with marine predators. The bottom of a deep bay, a mile or two from the shoreline of a continent. They tend to be about the size of an average human, and can be stronger. Bay dwellers relationships with Land Dwellers can range from friendly to hostile. Many Bay Dweller underwater communities live in peace with Land Dwellers, even enjoying trade with some, however there are just as many who despise Land Dwellers. These Bay Dwellers suffer from their environment polluted, overfished, or both. They will attack land dwellers and those that sympathize with them. They can be violent to non-Merfolk amphibious species of Rigal Prima. Bay Dwellers tend to have a lot of superstitions and traditions. Their underwater communities can get quite large. Ocean Dwellers: These hardy people live in ocean, even on the ocean floor itself. They can grow to be quite large and strong. There are dangers to living so deep for too long, as their bodies can become unable to adjust to lower pressures, but generally the ocean's weight and pressure serves to make them grow big and strong. They do not have large communities, more so small villages on the ocean floor or floating far beneath the waves. Due to the need of resources, many take up sailing (and sadly piracy) which serves them quite well. No fear of falling overboard and drowning after all, and the strength they have makes them good workers and fighters. They scoff at many Merfolk legends, as many of those legends are about the ocean where they live and seen them to be false. Superstitious lies by old fish afraid of some open water. However, their ancestry is that of land hating Bay dwellers. They sought out the mythical Sea King to cleanse the world of land dwellers. Due to the fact they never found anything, the old legends and superstitions were discarded. However the legacy of being better than land dwellers did not. And with the ocean depths making them even stronger, Ocean Dwellers do consider land dwellers lesser beings too them. Unlike land hating Bay dwellers however, they can tolerate land dwellers. Some even interact with them just so they can prove they are better. Trench Dwellers: These merfolk have only been mentioned in Bay Dweller Lore. Rumored to live at the bottom of ocean trenches. Ruled by a Seaking, they are the strongest creatures on the planet. Bay Dweller lore says the Seaking will one day raise the ocean's tide to swallow the lands, by flooding the waters with blood of Land dwellers. Ocean Dwellers have often scoffed that they do not exist. Having settlements on edges on these tranches, they have never seen anyone come up. They have also reported the pressure down in the trenches is too much for merfolk, having tried to dive down them. Abilities Aside from the strength merfolk get from living deeper, they have other abilities. Naturally they are superb swimmers, some are capable swimming as fast or faster than ships. Some called Sirens have the power to control sea life. It is generally only allows the Siren to control other fish of the same species as them (eg: Shark Siren controls sharks), though some have trained themselves to influence other species. Another ability to note is their reproduction. Each Merfolk's genes carries their entire ancestry. Hybrids amongst merfolk is unheard of. A Shark and Octopus will not make a sharktopus. Their child will be of one species, drawn from either of the parents bloodlines. If the Shark had a cuttlefish as a father, the child could end up a cuttlefish. If the Octopus had a pufferfish as a grandmother, the child could be a pufferfish. This means each merfolk has a massive gene pool to work with, so if just two are left alive they can repopulate the species. Special notes on Culture Treatment of the dead is very different with merfolk. Like their primitive ancestors, the dead are just another source of food. Granted they do have to be careful as their stomachs and immune systems aren't always as durable, but they see nothing wrong with serving up the dead crew of a recently sunken ship for breakfast. That being said, hunting sentient beings for food is very much frowned upon. Finding a corpse is fine, but making one is still murder. Even if it is a land dweller. (Land hating bay dwellers do avoid land dweller meat however.) They find the concept of incest foreign. Due to the massive gene pool each merfolk carries, there are no threats from mating inside one's family. There is some racism in between merfolk, based on their species of fish. Predator species mostly get the brunt of it as they do tend to savor raw and fresh meat over prepared and preserved. Some even get excited at the smell of blood in water.Category:Lore Category:Non-human